A'S NOTEBOOK / Howe Enjoys Twins' Trade

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, May 22, 1999

1999-05-22 04:00:00 PDT Minneapolis -- At least one person at the Metrodome was pleased to see Twins closer Rick Aguilera depart for Chicago yesterday.

"I saw he was off the (roster) list and I was hoping that was the case," A's manager Art Howe said after Minnesota dealt its star reliever to the Cubs for two minor- league pitchers. "I feel pretty good about it, myself. He's one of the better pitchers in baseball. You've gotta like your chances better if he's not around."

But former Twins star Paul Molitor, now a team broadcaster, was wistful about seeing his ex-teammate go.

"He was a lingering link to some of the past better teams here," Molitor said. DRAFT WATCH: General manager Billy Beane is busy preparing for the amateur draft, but he doesn't believe there's a great deal of talent available.

"There just is not a lot of depth in the first round," Beane said. "There are some very good players, don't get me wrong, but it's a mystery what will go on ahead of us, more than in the past."

The A's have the ninth pick in the draft, which begins on June 2. Beane said that the team would like to concentrate on pitching, as it has in recent years, but, he said, "We don't want to take a step back and take a pitcher just because he's a pitcher." MISCELLANY: Molitor, who hit nearly everywhere in the lineup when he was a player, likes the idea of sticking Ben Grieve in the No. 2 spot in order to get him to shake his slump. "When you have a player who is undoubtedly struggling but you know will be a quality major- league hitter, a little switch in his role can alleviate some pressure," Molitor said. "From a psychological aspect, change can help." . . . Grieve went 1-for-4 before coming out in the bottom of the seventh in a defensive move.

Howe said catcher Mike Macfarlane got the call against Minnesota's LaTroy Hawkins because he was 7-for-9 against Hawkins entering yesterday. . . . Macfarlane took a foul tip off his right foot in the fourth but remained in the game, though he was limping heavily. . . . Ryan Christenson is getting harder and harder to ignore: He went 4- for-6 and scored three runs at Triple-A Vancouver on Thursday. Christenson, who was projected to be the team's starting center fielder but was sent down a week into the season, is batting .355 at Vancouver while Oakland center fielder Jason McDonald went 0-for-5 with a walk last night to dip to .210.